Barrett sentenced Deguia-Reed to four to eight years in state prison followed by five years of probation, according to a plea agreement. She was also ordered to pay restitution totaling nearly $100,000 to the victims. She will begin her sentence April 1 after Barrett granted her deferment because of a planned medical surgery this month.

"It appears you have been doing this kind of thing for the last 20 years, and now you're going away for a long time," Barrett told Deguia-Reed. "I wish you could help me understand why you've done these things."

Deguia-Reed, speaking barely above a whisper, offered no explanation.

Authorities said Deguia-Reed got jobs with home health care agencies by forging the required Pennsylvania criminal history background clearance form. She then gained the trust of her clients to get control of their finances.

In one case, Deguia-Reed convinced an 84-year-old Rockland Township woman she was supposed to be caring for to cash in three life insurance policies for $180,826.

Between April 2015 and April 2016, Deguia-Reed cashed numerous checks totaling $70,849 and deposited the money into her personal accounts. She also opened credit cards in the woman's name and used them for fraudulent purchases, including plastic surgery.

Investigators believe she intended to buy the woman's property for $70,000 after depositing a $75,000 check from the woman into her account, but that plan backfired when bank officials flagged the check.

In another case, Deguia-Reed deceived a client and her family into believing she had been a stock broker in New York City before becoming a home health aide.

She told the woman and her daughter that she would invest $5,000 of their money into overseas stocks, but they never received any money or confirmation of their investment. She also asked the woman to form a business partnership in which they would buy foreclosed homes, fix them up and sell them at a profit. The woman invested about $19,000 toward that alleged business in June and July of 2017.

Deguia-Reed also gained access to her bank account information and stole about $7,000 from the account.